The Pawn
by A Very Gay Space Kitten
Summary: Can Opal prove just how strong she is to her friends? Or will she fall, and continue to be the weakest link?


**AN: Welcome to round 2 of the Pro-Bending Circuit!**

 **My chess piece prompt for this round is: Pawn - Thought of as one of the most unimportant pieces in the game, however, if this piece gets across the board, it can upgrade itself to a more valuable piece. Task: Write about someone or something that appears to be unimportant or expendable who proves to be more important than they or other people realise.**

 **The other prompts I have are: (dialogue) "You can't rush these things" (easy), (character) Opal (medium), and (AU) different element bending (hard). Word count: 1098.**

One windy day, Opal sat training on top of a mountain. Rocks shooting and her mother trying to help her fix her form, she looked down at the ground so far below her, sighed and went back to, what seemed like her endless training. It would all be over soon though, as she had just gotten a ticket for the next train ride to see an old friend of hers. Before Opal had moved away from the city, she had made a few close friends. Now all she could do was train and sit in solitude and wait for the day that her job gave her a break. That day was today, and she wasn't going to waste it! Her friends were waiting for her arrival, and she couldn't wait to see them all.

After what seemed like hours, Opal was finally off of the mountain ledge she had been training on. This would be the longest train ride she had ever been on, and being late wasn't an option. She hurried towards the station, tickets in hand. _"It's been so long since I've seen them all. I wish I wouldn't have to wait so long, but I guess you can't rush these things."_ Opal thought.

Once she finally made it to the station, Opal boarded the train with excitement. She couldn't wait to show everyone how her Earthbending had improved. _"Now they won't think I'm so useless! I can finally prove how powerful I am!"_ She thought. She had trained for 3 years since she last saw her friends. She didn't want them to see her as the weak girl, who could barely move a rock, as she was back then. She didn't want them to be saving her again. She wanted to be seen as their equals, not as a child. Opal sighed and looked out the window. Memories of 3 years ago began to churn inside her mind...

 ***Flashback to 3 years prior***

"Opal, move out of the way!" Korra yelled as Opal narrowly dodged what seemed like a tentacle, smashing into the ground. The force of destruction of just one tentacle was amazing. If it had hit her, she surely would've been done for.

Korra airbended what could be described as an invisible blade, cutting through the spirit tentacle. "Bolin! Get her to safety!" She demanded.

"Opal, come on!" Bolin yelled as he grabbed her by her waist and waterbended a kind of "surfboard" underneath the two of them. He quickly managed to get the two of them to an area where Opal could hide, along with some other civilians who had been near the park when it all started. "Opal, I need for you to stay here, okay?" Bolin told her.

Opal shook her head and looked Bolin in the eyes, "But I want to help!" She pleaded. She couldn't just sit back and watch everyone risk their lives. She had to help her friends.

"Opal, you know it's to dangerous. Just stay here. We'll be fine!" Bolin reassured her before heading back off into battle with the rogue spirit.

Opal's eyes began watering as she thought about how badly her friends could be hurt. And all she could do was sit and watch. She looked over at a rock, about the size of a cat, and focused on it. She pointed her hand at it and imagined her own energy connecting with the rock, becoming the rock. She breathed in and out slowly, and then raised her hand while visualizing the rock to move with it. It started to float slowly up, but then, it stopped and fell. Disappointment washed over her as she found she couldn't move it anymore.

 ***Flashback ends***

Back then, Opal had been missing something. Obviously she had lacked proper training, but it was more than that. She had lacked the willpower to make that rock move. She couldn't just want it to move. She had to force it, expect it, make it happen. The past 3 years had taught her that. Now, she was ready to face the challenges ahead of her and smash them to pieces. She could do this.

The train ride lasted a few more hours till it ended. She was now in Republic City. She hurriedly ran off the train towards the entrance/exit of the station. She began searching for her friends. Suddenly she heard a voice, "Opal, Opal! Hey Opal!"

Opal turned towards the voice and smiled. Standing by a few trees were her friends Korra, Asami, Bolin, and Mako. She ran toward them with a large grin on her face and greeted them, "Hey guys! I haven't seen you all in so long! How have you been? What have I missed? Oh! I have to show you all-"

Suddenly, a large crash was heard. A large building downtown had been smashed in by a large dark colored figure. "It seems as though we'll have to cut our greetings." Korra ominously said. "Lets go!"

The group began running towards the building as quickly as possible. _"This is my chance! I can show them all now!"_ Opal thought. She could prove herself to them once and for all.

As they ran, Opal used her earthbending to rip a piece of rock out of the ground. The rest of the group stopped and held on as Opal sent them all flying towards the monster. She raised them all above the head of the spirit, and looked at them as nodded to each other and jumped off and hurtled towards the monster.

Suddenly, it looked above at them, and swiped them away with a powerful hit of one of its arms. Opal's eyes widened in shock as she witnessed her friends hurtling towards the ground. She jumped off the floating platform and earthbended a piece of soft earth to Cath herself and her her friends. Then, after making sure they were safely on the ground, she used more earth to once again send herself flying towards the monster.

The spirit tried to swipe at her as she flew towards it, but she quickly dodged it and continued flying at it. Then, all in what seemed like one second, she turned her rock platform into a drill like shape, and then used her earthbending to kick the now spinning rock-drill into the spirit's chest. The spirit let out one last mighty roar, before it exploded into black dust. It was all over. She had proven herself, finally. Even she, the one that seemed to be the weakest link, could be the most valuable player of all.


End file.
